The powerhouses of the National Invitation Tournament have always had the power of fatigue in their hands. The five guys on a teleconference making the decision as to where each team plays has succeeded in a goal that has seemed obvious from the get go - get rid of Ball State.
First the team forces us to play in an opening round. Ball State was one of the bubble teams when it came to the NCAA Tournament. Ball State won the Mid-American Conference West division. Did we really need to even play an opening round? That round should be to weed out the teams whose invitations to the NIT were iffy. Nothing should have been iffy about Ball State.
After Ball State ruined the plans of the NIT by defeating South Florida, that little committee of idiots decided to try to force a loss on Ball State. The Cardinals had acquired a history of having road troubles, so what better way to help us to a loss than to make us travel?
So, to Philadelphia we went. And we won. Another laugh in the face of the NIT.
The NIT would have nothing to do with it, so they forced the Cardinals to travel again. This time it was to Louisiana. The Cardinals made the trip and won that game.
Before Ball State even played against LSU, the NIT committee had already notified Ball State athletics that if Ball State won, they would be on the road against a South Carolina opponent. If it were to be UNLV, it was undecided.
So we won against LSU, and of course South Carolina won.
In a near last ditch effort to rid Ball State of the NIT before taking the tournament to New York City, the Cardinals had to travel one last time.
Well NIT, you did it. You completely exhausted Ball State. The guys shot 5-27 in the first half alone. That's the half a team should be fresh. Some of those shots were open shots, but with legs of rubber and fatigued arms, the shots didn't fall.
So, there you go NIT, good job. You can have your New York final four and shove it. Just do me a favor next time. If you ever invite the Cardinals back to your one-purpose tournament - that being to make money - preface the invite with a little letter.
It might read like this:
"Dear coach,
"We regret to inform you the only reason we invited you to the NIT was because we felt we had no other choice. You were a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament and that left us no other option than to let you in. It doesn't matter if you are deserving or not. We don't care. We aren't about respecting teams. We care only about one thing and you don't provide it - money.
"Therefore, we won't allow you to host any games and we will at the same time shuttle you all over the nation in hopes of ripping apart your team's spirit, enthusiasm and hopes. Not only will we force you to travel, we wont televise any of your games. You are unworthy of highlight clips on ESPN.
"We at the NIT hope nothing for you other than a loss so that we can continue onward with real conference schools - schools that bring us money."
Write to Greg at gmfallon@bsu.edu
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